EthonlineS Reflections + Reviews + Reports

Consumerism: a call for food safety and alcoholic quality

Wondirad Seifu, December 31, 2005, The Reporter

It is quite evident that in a country whose per capita income is below the poverty line, its household (HH) disposable income is virtually allocated for the purchase of foodstuffs. These days, an unprecedented supply of foodstuffs and alcoholic drinks are available in Addis Ababa. Some of them are claimed to have poor quality and others show signs of adulteration.

Let me start my exploration with our daily bread, which is regarded as leading contender with the Ethiopian staple food ‘engera’. As such, baking becomes a lucrative business for every level of investors. In this regard , I would like to note the dedicated efforts made by the bakers in producing light weight bread, full of crust and devoid of an inner soft part as well as disguising the new art of bread- making. It is customary to look at the bakers’ advertisement in which they announce that they are increasing the quantity of the bread they used to sell for birr or from five to seven pieces. Of course, the ad is polished by flattering statements like: “customer is king...we always strive to...etc.”

Unfortunately, what they supply is bread with reduced weight, while maintaining the size before the new ad. Besides, the crust is rather irritating while eating. Can we say that the bread is of an acceptable quality? Is it an outcome of an acceptable process? I am afraid not. Do you concur with my view?

I don’t know which type of cooking oil they are using. Anyway, cooking oil or edible oil is one of the regular sources of diet for many of Ethiopians, which is mainly produced from Niger, Rape and Linseeds by a number of cottage-and medium –size industries. However, it has been said repeatedly that the production process these industries employ to produce oil is not satisfactory. Hence, the quality of the oil is poor by any standard.

One of the problems of their process is that it does not include essential steps to remove “free fatty acids” from the oil. These acids are claimed to cause health problems and as such medical doctors recommended the use of refined oils that are free from free fatty acids. Despite the limitation of the industries, their contribution to the country’s economy is undeniable. However, it is immoral to produce them at the expense of the people’s health. Moreover, what they do would not encourage those companies in the country which employ a complete process, and even hinder progressive development in the edible oil sector.

Worldwide, food safety is regarded as a vital issue and many countries have adopted obligatory quality standards and encourage implementation of good manufacturing practices (GMP) such as Hazardous Analysis of Critical Control Point (HACCP).

It is to be recalled that the former is supposed to be dealt with the Quality and Standard Authority of Ethiopia and the latter has been advocated by United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (Ethiopian branch). It would be good if they say how far they go towards this end.

Whether identified as a luxury or essential goods, within the context of the Ethiopian economy, the quality of alcoholic drinks deserves due attention.

The country is believed to be self-sufficient in alcoholic drinks. No one has heard of its shortage! The source of alcoholic drinks (AB) is both traditional and modern sectors. The popular traditional ABs includes araki, tej, tella and borde. Of these, I would like to select “ araki” as an example to highlight he the problem of the traditional AB sector. One of the striking developments with regard to araki is the mushrooming of wholesalers and distributors of araki in every corner of Addis. For so many reasons there is an increasing consumption pattern shift towards araki. In addition, a trade-off is exhibited between “araki and tella in which the former is overwhelming.

In the market, araki is identified by its alcoholic content. The alcoholic content of over 70 percent by volume is available, which is called “ dagim areki” (double araki) . The name is derived from its being distilled twice to concentrate the alcohol. This type of araki catches fire and burns with blue flame. This property is used as a testing method in the main araki trade routes from Baher Dar across Deber Brhan and from Arsi across Akaki.

Some araki houses have a double function and serves as a chemist’s shop in which the waitress is so kind to recommend you the type of araki you would take in order to relive your pain.

This type of araki is usually made by special order and contains different types of plant extracts which are traditionally used as medicine for various types of illness ranging from gastric problem to blood pressure.

In general, traditional brewers have secretly kept formula like Cock Cola. It is said that they are using various types of catalysts to facilitate the fermentation process with the purpose of having strong alcoholic content. Some of the catalysts are believed to adversely affect consumers’ health.

The chemistry of the process is not controlled and as such there is a possibility to end up with undesirable outcomes. A properly controlled process yields the required consumable alcohol known as “ethanol alcohol”. However, if the process goes wrong (not controlled) it can produce some undesirable alcohol known as “methyl alcohol” which can cause blindness, and even lead to death.

It is undeniable that there is a dramatic change in the supply side of araki, ranging from production technology to market strategy in order to keep track with even increasing demand of the popular araki. In spite of such aggressive development, there is no intervention to ensure the quality of AB in the traditional sector in general. In this regard, both government and non- government organisation should forge synergy to alleviate such problems. Lastly, but not least the public awareness of product quality is highly commendable. In fact, the encouraging of consumerism is an encouraging solution although it may have caused an impact on our infant democracy.

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